The Metropolitan Police have arrested a 52-year-old man in Oxfordshire, on suspicion of business espionage.

He is due to be interviewed at an Oxfordshire Police Station and a search of his property is being carried out. The man has been arrested on suspicion of offences under the Computer Misuse Act.

Business espionage

The arrest forms part of Kalmyk, an operation relating to computer hacking offences. Kalmyk is a sub-operation under Operation Tuleta, which is looking into breaches of privacy related to the hacking scandal that embroiled News Corporation and other media outlets.

There have been 20 arrests so far under Operation Tuleta. In August, a former Times journalist was arrested, whilst in September a 33-year-old man was arrested in South London on suspicion of breaking the Computer Misuse Act.

This is one of the first cases under Tuleta to relate to business espionage, however.

Cyber threats to business are increasing, and latest figures show problems from within are on the rise. Data from CIFAS, the UK’s fraud prevention service, showed a 43 percent increase in the number of staff frauds recorded in 2012 when compared with 2011.

There was also a 22 percent jump in the number of dishonest actions by staff to gain a benefit by theft or deception.